Today I feel like

that...



At least my moustache is cute, isn't it!

(sigh, now time to reach the sofa... wish me luck :P)

Wanna a LiberTshirt?

...gimme your visa first ;-)
I find it kewl that famous people defend human rights, freedom, etc. I even believe they almost *have to* use their popularity to defend such causes.
Like Vivienne Westwood, who's just created this t-shirt with the legend "I am not a terrorist, please don't arrest me", to defend individual liberty against too extreme anti-terrorist laws.



I find it kewl, really kewl. Honest!

But, hey... 73 euros for a t-shirt!!!!
Dunno, there's a kind of contradiction between the aim of that project (to defend freedom) and the fookin price of it! lol
Anyway, Madonna and Kate white-snow Moss will wear it and that was really the point at the end, nee? :P

Bloody "first times" !

For once today, it wasn't only Lola who enjoyed a *very first time*.
It was my turn too.

First time Lola got a thorn, a tiny bit of wood, deep under the skin of one of her fingers.
I just knew then that she and I were about to spend a not funnny funny moment together. It was worse than that.

With the help of tweezers, a needle, hot water, etc, I used all the courage I had and started *working* on the shrimpette's lil finger.



For more than one hour, I tried, I really did my best to get rid of this thorn! And Lola has been brave at the beginning, then it must have really hurt for she started to cry and cry and scream with pain.

Argggg!!!
I just could not stand it anymore. It was awful torturing her this way.
I asked Lola if she wanted to see the doc, she nodded between 2 sobs.

When we went there, Lola held my hand tightly, gave her lil hand to the doc, bit her lips in silence, and waited.
The thorn was really deep.

I kept talking to Lola, to help her focus her attention on something else, and while doing this, I could see tears in her eyes and feel a more firm grip on my hand. But she did not complain even once!!!!
She's been so brave, I just could not believe it....**~~*^* *^^* *

Her doc is her new "hero" now because he did some "magic" to "save" her (her words :-)

Phewwww...

Two pints and a Tahiti (yummmm!)

Finally the whale that I am can sit down and relax a bit to share with you the very *special* evening we've had yesterday :))

Lola spent the night at her grand-parents', which was very welcome!
I knew this evening would be about the last really *free* one we'd have before the birth (Gawd, I'm having HUGE contractions while typing right now! ...painful!).

So my plan was to make of that evening a special one.
We would have a delicious dinner that would satisfy as much my mood as my appetite (small but poshly selective ;-). But that was not enough to make thay evening purrfect... And there comes THE idea of an aperitive.

Yeah, but not like any kind of aperitive ya know.
I thought why not meeting our new neighbour (well, Nim' lives at 10 minutes from here now!)?
This new neighbour being Nimwendil, a blogwriter that I've known now since a few months.
I just *knew* it would be really kewl because I came to know bits of his personnality throughout his writings on his blog.

So we met in a bar, just near our respective flats.
And that was truly a PURFECT aperitive!
Nim' was as I felt he would be: very open, definatly friendly, with a sense of humour and a visible pleasure (of being *there*, of sharing bits of our respective lives, of sharing our tastes with music or books, etc) that made the atmosphere almost instantly relaxing.

I must say that there have been 2 first minutes specially unexpected: when Nim' and Martin saw each other, they looked very astonished, saying they had met somewhere.
Yes, but where?!!
They thought about it 20 seconds and... there you go: Nim' had met Martin for a job interview in Martin's company 2 months ago!!!!
LOL
Can you believe it?!!!
I just could not! The world's so small!

That was pretty funny.
And then, while Martin and Nim' were having their pints (grrmpphh, them lucky!) and I my Tahitis (cocktail ananas+strawberry+banana), we started an endless conversation about Fantasy, metal, Tolkien, etc... many topics that were inspiring!

Finally our aperitive lasted more than expected and we had our dinner later, but with not a single regret. Just the opposite!

Welcome to our new *neighbour* and hopefully *blogfriend*! :-)

(to be continued :P)

My Autumn

(pssshhhhit... the words here hide other words ;-)
(edit for Martin: you've to put your mouse on the words to see what's hiding behind! -shrugging-)

Alive
Birth
Colours
Dead can Dance
Ephemeral
Fantasy
Grape
Halloween
Imagination
Jack O' Lantern
Kender
Lantern
Movies
Nightmare before Xmas
Oh my!
Pumpkin
Quest
Romantic
Sacred
Tasty
USA
Vault
Woods
Xxx
Yin & Yang
Zenitude

Red roof

We expected that since a couple of years: the mini-house (not even really a house) next to ours, with the red roof is for sale. It's abandonned and everything has to be renovated in it.
There must not be more than, I dunno, 30 m2. So I can't see who would buy it as a real "house"!
Anyway, the price is really high for what it is (as it is now in Bretagne) and we've offered a definatly lower price for it. Well, they will try to sell it to anyone with money, but will they make it really?

At least, we've made a proposal, which will mean "we tried" to get it. I doubt we'll make it, but who knows!!!!
(crossing bits)

Coco Mice

I think we spent last Autumn cooking biscuits about every 2 days last year...!
(what a little house on the prairie's concept, isn't it? :P)

And well, I think we're gonna beat our own records, starting the new season with Lola as a chef :)
The shrimpette is proud to present you her delicious coco mice, and she made enough of them for all Martin's colleagues at work! lol
I would have luved to see them biting the lil mice while going on with their serious conversations ;-)



And while I'm at it, other pics from the shrimpette who's gonna be the very best old sister (at least maybe the most fashion one, lol)!



...I give her special attention at the moment, first: because of pure selfish pleasure, second: because of the arrival of her lil bro, third: because Martin works really late at the moment and can't spend more than 1 hour with her :(

"Officially lazy!" (wanna join my club?)

My maternity leave has just started!
Ok, I am not employed anywhere so in the facts that does not change anything... except that I'm a hard worker at home!

And I've decided to reconsider this "maternity leave" and take it seriously.
So, I won't work anymore till the birth (which I expect late october, if possible, I'm just too tired right now!)

I've never worked as much as in the past month till today on a "Herman" book. I had to finish the new one (title: Herman has no friends) before the birth. No choice! Even if it's expected for february...

So it's done and that's so kewl!

No more work pressure, I'll just have naps with Lola, I'll blog when I feel it and paint if I can stand on my chair without too many contractions.
I ask, what, 3 weeks like that, minimum! (thank you, Mrs *Universe* ;-)**~~*^* *)

Bruce Banner

The kind of subtle sense of humour that makes me laugh! Sowwwy :P

Enjoying the clear sky...

... hoping to get a beauDiful view of the moon, absolutely full tonight**~~*^* *

Some will expect the werewolf to give them fever, others will fear both (the werewolf and the fever), and preggie women, as round as the moon, will wonder if tonight's gonna be their night!
Personnally I'll welcome the fever, no probbie, but I'd rather wait for the next full moon to know if it's my night ;-)

Lola's first days in the jungle

Lola's started school 2 weeks ago now, and she hasn't cried a single time!
And (cough), me neither :P

Okies, she's already understood she could threaten us to not go to school, but we'll get used to that for the next 15, 20 years?

School so far means singing and playing for Lola. Oh, and peeing in the toilets! (when I ask her what she did in the morning, she answers "I went to pee, mama!" lol

For me, I've discovered school also meant something else:

Second day, on the board: "lice are back !"
Fifth day, on the board: "first case of chickenpox in the classroom"



Yeahhhhh, I'm too happy, what's next?
Suddenly I feel I've just opened a new chapter in the encyclopedia of Parenthood (shorter paperback edition, available in 35 volumes ;-)
Huuuu...

Anyway, yesterday I asked Lola who was her *special guuuuud* lil friend in the classroom... she thought for a minute then answered "it's mama!!!"
hehe
(happy sigh)**~~*^* *

Don't steal my shoes!

I love/hate ebay. Yeah ok, I love it when I can find a new pair of shoes (kickers) for 25 euros only... but I hate the auction stuff. I just feel in my waters that AGAIN I will lose it at the very last second, or that the price will raise to, dunno, 50, 60 euros.

I can already feel them on my feet though, what a cruel world.

Gerhard vs Angela

I dunno much about French politics, so don't ask me anything about German politics...

Yet, despite a huge lack of knowledge on that matter, I've heard there would be German elections tomorrow (s)
(note to Martin: you know you're a bad bad boy for not voting tomorrow, hm?! ;-)

As far as I understood it (but you're welcome to explain me more), It gonna be Schröder's party vs Merkel's one (yeahhh! I'm not that bad, hey :P)

Personnally I have quite a positive image of Schröder, but I can't deny he's got tough years with apparently poor results (unemployment, retirement, social crisis, etc).



About Merkel, I have definatly not a positive image since she's started criticizing the position of her own country regarding the war in Irak.
She would have definatly led the Germans into that war, which sounds so "not German"!!!
I understand too she wants to make big economic and social changes, which is often the case from the opposition, and which might be helpful, ... IF only these changes were not too extreme and ultra liberal. Eeeeeck!



So, well, as usual with elections, not a great choice. But I really wish the best to my German buddies for tomorrow :)

We're being *Googled*

Yeah, I've just discovered that (lol maybe I'm the last one, but nebbermind :P)

I was just looking for another way to spend hours on the web!
Yeahhhhh!!!

Can the anaesthetist anaesthetize my lil fears?

I'm just back from the hospital where I had my rendez-vous with the anaesthetist (gawd, what a hard word to tell in English!).

Usual questions to be sure I'm a good candidate for the epidural.
Now they know I AM a good candidate, I will have to chose wether or not I want to feel pain during the labour and delivery.
Me wanting to feel pain? LOL! They're kidding, I will write epidural required on my forehead to be sure they don't forget it ;-)

I could not help smiling again when she reminded me the size of the needle has a terrible effect on the "papas" (please sir, don't watch or you might faint, which is definatly not the appropriate moment ... lol)



So, another step for me. I'm getting ready, like a good lil soldier, really... even if I start to be a bit nervous.
I don't need much to be reassured, it's not my first *time*, and it's part of the game to imagine and stress a bit about what may happen.

What if I lose the waters while buying my bread or playing footie with Lola, hm?
What will be my resistance to pain? (last time, I had painkillers at the very beginning)
What if my contractions are so painful that I can't go down the 5th floors?

And what really make me upset... will there be someone to take care of Lola at the right moment, even at 3.00 am?
The shrimpette is actually my main preocupation. I want her to feel no fear with what will happen. But it will be ok for her, I will make sure it will. Roaaaarrrrrr!!!!

6 weeks to go for me now.
It's gonna be a real adventure and... I'm ready for it :)

Boys boys boys

I'm suprised, really suprised that almost all the pregnant women I know, the preggie blogwriters included, expect a baby boy!
And among my friends who had a baby in 2005, they all gave birth to boys!!!
And in the monthly stats, there are more boys expected than girls!
How new! When Lola was born, the stats were very high for girls. I remember the usual jokes when a boy was born : he will have *choice*, huhu :P

But that's good, it just had to happen this way for a purrfect balance :))

Here in the blogsphere, I think Jenny expects a boy, same for Alix and I. Only Etolane expects a goilette (she will have choice, huh ;-)

(what a fertile year in the blogsphere by the way!!!)

To be *good* mamas, does that mean we all have to practice footie, to have a bud & watch tv (easy!), to appreciate the beauDy of a fast red car and roaring engine?
Neeeeee... phewwwww... to be guuud mamas, we'll probably have to balance their male-ish inspirations with our female-ish sweetness and sense of beauDy ;-)

DVDvore

I wish there was some good ol' dvd store near.. instead of these franchise shops which offer a very limited range of dvds to rent.
But these specialized shops have disappeared. What a pity, I luuuved getting the precious advice from the guys there who knew everything about any kind of movies.
Instead we have students who offer you M&Ms if you're a good customer...
(sigh)

Anyway, despite a limited choice, I managed to find a few treasures :-)

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
The movie's style is close to "Being John Malkovich", though I did not enjoy much the Malkovich one. "Eternal Sunshine" is much much beDer to me, so unique! The topic is brilliant, the actors are excellent, and the whole story is a surprise. If you get the opportunity... why not trying it, huh :P

Saint-Ange
A kind of French horror movie. Probably not the best moment for me to watch this movie because there are some scary scenes linked to birth (I just could not sleep after). What is remarkable with this movie is the different ways you can *see* it. Martin and I had to share our views for hours to imagine what was really behind the images. For that only, I found the movie pretty good!

The terminal
Here we are, the kind of movie I rent when there is nothing else available anymore. My mistake. It was not sooo bad, but it was definatly not good or exciting. And I've got the confirmation that Catherine Zeta-Jones is on my "worst actresses' top 10" (along with Demi Moore)

La veuve de St Pierre
Okies, I've had this movie at home for months, a movie highly recommended by my mom. Finaly I thought we could watch it, why not, even if it sounded very classical and romantic. It was over classical, with a boring topic which held no surprise at all (yawn).

Black Adder, season 3
... Not the best one to me (black adder looks too clever to be really funny me thinks). But ok, you get the brilliant Baldrick and all the usual humour touches. It was fun!

Coupling, season 4
Makes me wanna watch a 5th season! If only! We had big laffs again, just thinking of it put a stoopid smile on my tired face! lol! When you compare Coupling to Friends or Sex and the City... I am definatly more receptive to the Roastbeef unusual, weird, shocking anf brilliant sense of humour! I've never enough of it :P

Petits caprices

I want Autumn to join, with a 20°C maximum in its luggage
I want my best friends to be my neighbours
I want cakes to be recommanded by the doc
I want that Martin and I spend a weekend in London with Marine
I want the *mini-boy* to arrive early enough to celebrate Halloween with him
I want this boy to stop bothering Lola at school
I want my lil lion to stop kicking in my ribs
I want dentists to work on Saturdays
I want Harry Potter #7 to be available
I want a Alien #5 to be on screen, in which Ripley gets a baby with the Predator, which would make the Alien very angry!
I want a special cinema just here with working baby-sitters
Well, and I want new shoes, naturally!
Roarrrrrr!!!!

Musical slaves

For those who do not know the band yet, take Rage Against the Machine -without its singer- and the singer of Soundgarden -which I luuuve-, and you get Audioslave.

I'm not sure about their second album yet (I need to hear it maybe 15 times before *knowing*), but their first album is *guuuuuuud*, rilly! A relief after Jamiroquai's Dynamite, the only album I had bought in months... Watta mistake! But thank Gawd, I've just re-sold it! Phewwww


Audioslave

The tale of the tall bagpipe player and the mini Frawnch red-head

Martin came to Paris for the first time 7 years ago. It was exactly on the 6th of September.
He was so tall (lol he is still, but I got used! Pheww) with his 1m98 and I so small with my 1m58.
I was wearing a leather coat, he was all dressed in leather. Both with long hair. His were longer. Much longer.

I introduced him my hairy partner, Joe, and he introduced me his musical partner, his bagpipe.

We spent 3 days discovering each other.
3 months later we were married.
7 years later, our old partners, Joe and the Berrichonne, can hardly believe their eyes: Love is more in the air than ever, there are two young *Love creatures* as a proof of it , and there's even hobbit house to welcome the tribe**~~*^* *

We haven't been lazy!!!

Images vs words

My tv is often on, for cartoons mainly, for movies whenever we have some time.
But we've no time for the rest (who's talking of the young and the restless here, huh! tssss, don't thank me for the link ;-). We never watch the news or anything.

Getting the main lines via the internet sounds enough to me.

But it's not the first time I've noticed that reading a few words were not enough to me. Something always misses. Like for the very first time since the beginning of the tragedy in New Orleans and all around there, I've seen images yesterday.

Words give you the facts, figures, critics, etc.

And yesterday, images have just brought some kind of unimaginable reality to the words I read 20 times/day...
Maybe because I'm not so used to images. Yup maybe it's the point. Dunno. Images are also more shocking probably.

And I woke up with these terrible images in the head this morning, having the certitude again that Nature will always have the last... word.

A new World under construction

I think I've been too stressed to paint about maternity so far...
Instead I've been painting warriors mainly, it tells a lot, huh ;-)

But now I'm in my 8th month, still confortable with my flat on the 5th floor without lift and still comfortable enough to play footie with Lola... I am doing more than ok, thank Gawd :-)))**~~*^* *^^^* * *^

And inspiration came last weekend, my inner feelings (maternity, peace, happiness) just had to be expressed. Also a way to add a soft touch to the chaos of the world around..


A new world under construction
(click here)

Next book, pulease :P

Nooo, don't run away because we talk *books* today! (lol I am talking to meself here actually! //oO\\)
If you don't know what to read, or if you really trust me ;-), I recommand 3 books below! Summer's almost gone, time to be a bit serious again, huh (s)

Harry Potter & the goblet of fire by JK Rowling
It took me some time to start with the 4th book. I reckon it was nice to find again the Potter environment and characters! Full of imagination, very creative.
...But it was way too long! Some passages takes pages to tell the same thing!
And the ending, huuuu... (spoiler!!!) the ending looks as if the author had no idea about it before actually writting it. Like...(turning my finger in the air, then pointing): the badddie gonna be this one! ;-)
I got bored enough and lost any motivation to read Harry Potter #5 (Martin told me Harry started in it his teenager's crisis and he turned really boring, boring enough to make us wanna Voldemort catch him! lol)
BUT the movie trailer sounds very kewl! Much better than the book (since you do not have the 700 something pages ;-)

The Briar King by Creg Keyes
Woaaaa, it's been ages I've read something I really enjoyed in the Fantasy field. But I luuuved this one! You follow different characters (not typical "Fantasy" characters btw), jumping from one to another, chapter after chapter. You just can't keep holding your breath wondering what will happen next. I know what will happen next: I'll buy the new book of the series that will be available 2 months :P

Géants et Dragons by Edouard Brasey
Interesting at the beginning but I quickly got bored. Just a succession of lil stories and facts about giants and dragons.

Harry Potter & the half-blood prince by JK Rowling
Ohh what a guuud surprise! One of my favourite in the series! I really liked it! As usual since few books, some passages are a bit too long... but the patern of this 6th book is very different, I like the way the characters are now (they've changed!) and for once it did not end with a big final Lord Voldemort's "I'll be back". No it's simply different. I can't wait for the next one!!!
spoiler for Martin who's reading it: HP's gonna discover Snape is his cousin, Ron's gonna have wild sex with Madame Maxime, and Hermione will start cheating at exams!! OMG!

Survivre by Xavier Maniguet
or "How to survive in a hostile environment"
A book I discovered by chance really, and when I opened it I just could not stop reading it.
The author, in a most professional way, tells you the basic situations that may happened in extreme conditions. How people usually react, what must be done, and what must not, etc. And he always remind us true (trully incredible) stories that happened, to "illustrate" what he's talking about.
Even if I'm not directly concerned with such adventures (lost in the desert, on the sea, etc), you learn a lot of basic stuff to help you in the worst situations.
The chapters I really enjoyed "Heat and Cold", "Surviving within a group", "Being lost on the sea", "the Desert" or the influence of the "Stress" (stress can be really positive or lead you to death, depending on how you express it!)
I've learnt a lot (like how to catch a seagul with the hands, lol)

Vive les mariés!!!

Don't you *feel* Love sparkles dancing in the air today?!
I do!
And I guess it's "just" because in a few hours, Etolane and Juan will be married! Well, they are already married, but this time it gonna be the religious ceremony, which is wunnnerful!**~~*^* * *^^* *

And their lil princess will already be part of the ceremony, Etolane is pregnant like me, her due date is just 2 weeks later than me :))
It gonna be a day full of Love vibes and no doubt the lil princess will feel them (happy happy sigh)**~~*^* *^^* *

(dancing around, throwing petals, singing for their special day)

A very first time

I'm going to bite my nails, to sweat with stress, to tremble in my bootys and pee in my pants, looking at the clock, wondering ...

-wether *she* will know how to go to pee, or not?
-wether *she* will defend herself properly, or not?
-wether *she* will keep some self control to avoid fighting, or not?
-wether *she* will enjoy her time there, or not?
-wether *she* will know what to do when they'll go out to play at the break, or not?
-wether *she* will still talk of all this with sparkles in the eyes, or not?

Lola's first day (morning, it's just morning for them) at school, today!!!
That's something.....ne?!

..for her.. and for me (s)

Blogs' visitors, a strange species!

As you can find different categories of blogs, you really can find different categories of blogs' visitors... Pretty interesting...

1) You get the ones surfing, jumping on your blog just by change...
They usually never come back, even if they enjoy your blog. There are wonderful exceptions though here. A few suddenly wanna make a contact with you because your words really sound familiar or touch them in a *special* way. These unusual visitors can turn to be friends, very unexpectingly.

2) Then you get the blogwriters, discovering your blog by chance, or by clicking on a link from another blog. The blogwriters already get their "own blogworld" so they will leave a comment only if they RILLY wanna make a contact with you... otherwise, they'll be back maybe once or twice and that will be over.

3) Then you have your *gang of regulars*, usually blogwriters (but not always). They leave messages when they *feel* it, and you do the same on their blogs.
You're in contact so regularly that you RILLY feel you know them. Meeting them is the cherry on the cake, you can hardly have a bad surprise. The friendship isn't new, it started through respective blogs and exchanges.

4) And finally you have a category of visitors who are regular, but who never leave a message. A category I find hard to understand.
I find this pretty unfair to expose oneself in such an intimate way and to get no feed-back from someone who's regularly around to get news. It leaves a bad taste of "voyeurism" somehow, somewhere, even it's far from being the right word really.

But that's the game with blogs. If you accept to expose yourself this way, you must accept the quiet visitors I guess.

Now thank you all of ewwws who never hesitate to leave a lil message whenever you *feel* it, and to the others, why not starting also your own blog to share news too, fair deal, no?:P

8th month, it's getting seriously heavy ...

...but I'm the only one allowed to tell it, okies? ;-)

I'm starting today my 8th month and I'm just back from the 3rd echography, the last one.

The *miniboy* is doing very well, his head is downward, his back on the right side of my belly, and his legs below my boobs! :))
Now he is a big boy...
The measures are pretty high, 46cm already for 2kg300!
I've seen that at this time of the pregnancy, babies (in France) are in average 40,5cm long, for a weight of 1kg900 ...
Now there are 8 weeks left, and he should take about 1cm and 200 grammes every week... That's a bit scary! How will he do to go out via the miniminiminiminiiiiii *door*?!!
(faint)

In comparison, my sister told me the measures of her daughter Marine during the 3rd echography: 37cm for 1kg700 ... and she is not a tiny girl, Marine, oh nenene!

Anyway, in 5 weeks from now (I'm in my 32nd week of pregnancy), the *mini-boy* will be completly *finished* and allowed to go out whenever he feels it!
So in 5 weeks, I start again belly dancing (hahum..) :-))

Here are 3 lil pics, one of the *mini-boy*'s profile (look at his lil mouth, I wanna kiss it already!), one of his foot, and one of my belly (sorry I AM enormous, but this photo won't tell it really. Much beder for my mood ;-)